Bellator Will Stick with Tito Ortiz, Despite Injury

Even though Tito Ortiz ruined Bellator’s plans of having him face off against Rampage as the headliner for Bellator 106, Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) says that the organization will stick by the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s side.

Following Bellator 106, Rebney sat down in an interview with MMAJunkie.com, and talked about Ortiz’s future with the organization.

“Sure, I’m worried about it,” Bjorn Rebney said. “But it’s Tito, and I’ve known him for a long time, and I made a commitment to him that we would try to give it another run.”

Many fans in the MMA community have criticized Ortiz for pulling out of the bout, but Rebney maintained that the decision for Ortiz to withdraw was a prudent one.

“It’s ridiculous. I actually have real X-rays from Tito’s real neck that showed it wasn’t fractured before and it is now,” Rebney said regarding Ortiz’s neck injury.

“He had a fracture in his neck. I spoke to a top-level specialist who did the neck surgery on Tito. The reason he couldn’t fight is because it was fractured, and if he got dropped on his head the right way, it could splinter and go into his spinal cord and paralyze him.”

From what Rebney said in his interview, Ortiz withdrawing from his fight with Rampage was definitely a wise decision.

Although Bellator didn’t get Ortiz vs Jackson, they still put on a great show with Alvarez and Chandler. So that might be why the Bellator CEO isn’t too bummed about Ortiz’s latest debacle.

Steve became interested in combat sports when he joined his high
school’s wrestling team as freshman. His experience as a wrestler
sparked his interest in mixed martial arts when he recognized the
compatibility between the two sports. From there, he continued to
wrestle all throughout college until he earned his bachelor’s degree
in history. Steve’s interests in combat sports center mostly around
grappling, but he’s also interested in the history of the sport and
where it’s headed in the future.

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